The Central Archaeology Group Inc. (CAGI)

Joseph Schuldenrein-Principal Archeologist and President of Geoarcheology Research Associates. Since the early 1970s, the trajectories of geoarchaeology and cultural resource management (CRM)have followed contemporaneous if somewhat independent courses. As a widely applied strategy, geoarchaeology emerged in the wake of the “New Archaeology.” It was a logical vehicle for incorporating scientific methods to a theoretical orientation that emphasized human ecology. Perhaps the signature work that placed the discipline on the academic “archaeological map” was Karl Butzer’s second edition of Environment and Archaeology: An Ecological Approach to Prehistory (1971). At about the same time, the expansive reach of the National Historic Preservation Act (1966) mandated archaeological investigations across landscapes, environments, and contexts heretofore unanticipated across the U.S. In hindsight, geoarchaeology’s landscape perspective and the preservation ethic would appear to be natural allies...

Here are some abstracts for articles on public archaeology, cultural heritage concerns, and indigenous rights that you might be interested in Who's indigenous? Whose archaeology? Bill Sillar The International Labour Organisation, the United Nations and various indigenous Organisations have raised and/or objected to diverse criteria through which indigenous groups have been defined and the rights that should be accorded to them. This paper discusses the implications of these issues in relation to archaeological research and heritage management and uses this to position the other papers in this volume. Specific themes that are addressed include: the impact of colonialism and nationforming on indigenous groups; the continuing influence of 19th and early 20th century social evolutionary concepts on the representation of indigenous groups and the role of archival material from this period today; the contrasting processes of cultural continuity and assimilation within 'dominant' ...

The archaeological process in Ontario is conducted in four sequential stages. Stage I, and in most cases Stage II, are required for residential and commercial development and infrastructure improvement undertaken in the Province under the Planning and Environmental Assessment Acts. Stage III and Stage IV investigations are determined through documentary and cultural resources encountered during the Stage I and Stage II assessments. The Ministry of Culture is currently reviewing the standards for archaeology in Ontario. The new guidelines are expected to be in place in the spring of 2007. Not only does the Central Archaeology Group adhere to the existing Ministry of Culture’s Archaeological Assessment Technical Guidelines, but in anticipation of these new guidelines, we have already incorporated them into our work practices. Stage I – Background Study The purpose of the Stage I assessment is to investigate the cultural land use, archaeological history, and the present condition of a p...